Pill drop off to be held Saturday, March 22

Published: Monday, March 17, 2014 at 10:41 AM.

The Craven County Sheriff’s Office announced today that a Prescription Pill Drop-Off Event will take place on Saturday March 22, from 8 a.m. to noon.

The event enables area residents with unneeded or expired prescription drugs to drop them off for safe disposal. The drugs will be accepted on an anonymous, no-questions-asked basis outside the Food Lion stores at:

The Craven County Sheriff’s Office announced today that a Prescription Pill Drop-Off Event will take place on Saturday March 22, from 8 a.m. to noon.

The event enables area residents with unneeded or expired prescription drugs to drop them off for safe disposal. The drugs will be accepted on an anonymous, no-questions-asked basis outside the Food Lion stores at:

· 3301 MLK Blvd New Bern;

· 1214 South Glenburnie Road New Bern;

· 121 Bridge Town Blvd Bridgeton;

· 935 US 70 Hwy E James City;

· 280 NC 43 Hwy Vanceboro;

· 1403 E Main Street Havelock;

· 101 Greenfield Heights Blvd. Havelock

The Sheriff’s Office will be on hand at the locations to ensure that the drugs collected are properly disposed. Each drop-off location will also have information about the proper disposal of medication at home, about identifying and addressing prescription pill abuse.

Sheriff officials say the purpose of the event is to prevent the potential misuse of prescription drugs. Two hundred seventy three pounds of pills were collected last year at the drop-off event. Authorities noted that prescription drug abuse is a growing trend nationally.

In 2010, there were 13,652 deaths from overdosing on prescription drugs in the United States. The number of deaths from overdosing on prescription drugs was more than triple the deaths reported in 1999.

Every day in the United States, an average of 2,000 teenagers use prescription drugs without a doctor's guidance for the first time. Among youth who are 12 to 17 years old, 14.8% of high school seniors reported nonmedical use of prescription medications.